Effect of Inspiratory Muscle Training on Performance of Handball Athletes
Authors: Charlini S. Hartz, Márcio A. G. Sindorf, Charles R. Lopes, José Batista, Marlene A. Moreno
DOI / Source: 10.2478/hukin-2018-0005
Date: 01 August 2018
Reading level: Beginner
Why This Matters for Freedivers
Freedivers often train the “breathing muscles” to feel calmer, delay discomfort, and recover faster between dives. This paper shows that a simple inspiratory muscle training routine (short sessions, five days a week) can make the breathing muscles stronger and more fatigue-resistant—and that can translate into better overall endurance performance, which is a good sign for freedivers doing repeated dives, long dynamics, or heavy finning sessions.
Synopsis
Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) is basically strength training for the muscles you use to breathe in—mainly the diaphragm and supporting muscles around the ribs and chest. The idea is that if these muscles get stronger and tire less easily, you breathe more efficiently under stress, feel less “air hunger,” and avoid the cascade where breathing muscles fatigue and your body starts prioritizing blood flow to them at the expense of working muscles.
This study tested IMT in a demanding, high-intensity sport: handball. Nineteen male athletes were split into two groups. Both groups kept their normal team training, but the experimental group did a real IMT program for 12 weeks using a resistance device (two short sessions per day, five days a week, 30 strong breaths per session). The load increased over time from 50% to 70% of the athlete’s maximum inspiratory pressure. The placebo group also used the device, but at a very low load that shouldn’t produce major conditioning.
After the 12 weeks, the changes were clear. The experimental group improved a lot in maximum inspiratory pressure (how hard they can inhale against resistance) and also improved maximum expiratory pressure. Their maximum voluntary ventilation (how much air they can move when breathing fast and deep) went up too, showing better breathing muscle endurance. But the most interesting part is that this wasn’t just “stronger breathing muscles.” The experimental group also improved aerobic performance on a treadmill test: VO₂max increased, and oxygen uptake at the respiratory compensation point improved as well (a marker linked to sustaining high intensity before breathing becomes disproportionately hard).
In plain terms: training the inhale muscles made them stronger and more resistant, and that seemed to support better performance when the whole system is under stress. The paper discusses a common explanation: when breathing muscles fatigue, the body can trigger reflex responses that increase blood flow demand to the breathing muscles and reduce it to the limbs, making performance drop sooner. If IMT delays that fatigue, you may keep working at high intensity for longer with less perceived breathing effort.
For freedivers, this is encouraging because repeated dives and long finning sets can create a similar “breathing muscle load,” especially in recovery breathing. IMT won’t replace technique and relaxation, but it can be a practical add-on for divers who want stronger, more efficient respiratory muscles.
Abstract
Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) is a strategy that has been used to improve performance in different sports modalities. This study investigated the effects of an IMT program on respiratory muscle strength and resistance as well as aerobic physical performance (PP) of handball athletes. Nineteen 20 ± 3 year-old male athletes were allocated into an experimental (EG, n = 10) or a placebo group (PG, n = 9). Their respiratory muscle strength was evaluated by measuring the maximum inspiratory and expiratory pressures (MIP and MEP), muscular respiratory resistance by maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) and aerobic PP by the cardiopulmonary exercise test. The study was designed to evaluate the effects of a 12-week IMT program with five sessions a week. A significant difference was observed in the pre and post IMT values of the MIP (170 ± 34 to 262 ± 33 cmH2O) and MEP (177 ± 36 to 218 ± 37 cmH2O) in the EG, and MIP (173 ± 45 to 213 ± 21 cmH2O) in the PG, with a large effect size for the MIP, when the groups were compared. MVV showed a significant increase (162 ± 24 to 173 ± 30 L) in the EG, with a small effect size. There was a significant difference in maximum oxygen uptake (54 ± 8 to 60 ± 7 ml/kg/min) in aerobic PP. Oxygen uptake at the respiratory compensation point (RCP) (46 ± 6 to 50 ± 5 ml/kg/min), with a moderate effect size for both variables, was observed in the EG after IMT. We concluded that IMT provided a significant increase in respiratory muscle strength and resistance, contributing to increased aerobic PP in the EG, which suggests that IMT could be incorporated in handball players’ training.